Helped a friend on Sip construction

[davo727]

Went and helped a friend I work with and one of his sons and a 19 yr old grandson. He is building a house with SIP panels. The house has 14 foot sidewalls and 22 foot peak and the garage behind it is 8 or 9 feet high sidewalls. We put up 6 panels this afternoon, they are about 8 ft wide. The walls are 6 in thick and roof 8 in.

The panels came from Bryan, Tx. At the corner joints there are 2x6s inserted in the end of each sip and then 8 in long screws that tie the corner together.

On the joints in the middle of wall runs there is a 4 inch wide sip piece that goes into the joint- the other 2 overlap it. All these joints are glued and nailed. There are two 2x6 bolted to the foundation. The sip slides over the top one and is glued and nailed but doesnt touch the bottom plate. Got stung by a nice wasp.

Was interesting, will prob help them nxt thursday also since we are all off that day and they need to get this thing up so the roofing can be applied.

 

[hr3]

Nice to help a friend,, looked like fun too.. As an electrician.. it looks like a pain to wire the walls though,,

 

[wedge40]

Ya that was my question as well. Electrical and any plumbing. I'm guessing it's put in with the wire or pipe leading to a connection point at the edge.

Guess I'll have to google sip construction

Wedge

 

[johnrex62]

I saw a show on the Discovery Channel installing SIP panels. The panels are made with planned conduit channels for plumbing and electrical. If additional runs are needed, the Hot Ball technique is very simple. Heat a ball bearing with a propane torch and drop it in the panel. Gravity pulls it to the botton in a straight line and melts a very neat wire/pipe chase.

 

[Kyle241]

My house is built with SIPs. I built it last year and it was the easiest building method I have done. Previously homes I have built were common stick framed and then I built a straw bale home as well. I decided on SIPs because I wanted something with good insulation and a do-it-yourself method. The sound and insulation is fantastic in this house. My primary heat source is a masonry heater and I installed triple pane fibreglass windows to help seal the house. I had no issues with the plumber or electrician as both are excellent contractors and very easy to work with. The cost of the electrician was no different than it would have been for stick framing. The thing one has to do is plan it all right in advance and share the information with your plumber and electrician so they are not intimidated. I installed the SIP's myself. Some pics:

First corner:

 

[bdeboer]

My house is built with SIPs. I built it last year and it was the easiest building method I have done. Previously homes I have built were common stick framed and then I built a straw bale home as well. I decided on SIPs because I wanted something with good insulation and a do-it-yourself method. The sound and insulation is fantastic in this house. My primary heat source is a masonry heater and I installed triple pane fibreglass windows to help seal the house. I had no issues with the plumber or electrician as both are excellent contractors and very easy to work with. The cost of the electrician was no different than it would have been for stick framing. The thing one has to do is plan it all right in advance and share the information with your plumber and electrician so they are not intimidated. I installed the SIP's myself. Some pics:]

Kyle241: What method did you use for attic insulation?

 

[Mande1992]

I seriously considered using SIPs 6 years ago when we built our house. Considering we (wife and I) were doing all the building ourselves while I did my regular '40 hours' and she kept track of 4 kids, it was attractive to simply lift walls into place. I didn't end up using them as it made a big difference having everything planned out before you start, and that just doesn't always happen. Not to mention that I would have to bring in some big equipment to get the huge roof panels into place.

We did use ICF blocks for the basement and geothermal for heating the house, some other nice options when building new

Looks like an opportunity to show off some Salmon Arm pictures

 

[davo727]

If you look at the center pic you can see the conduit holes at about knee high and chest high in the foam.

 

[sodamo]

Nice to help a friend,, looked like fun too.. As an electrician.. it looks like a pain to wire the walls though,,

LOL
We built our house using SIPs (ProTec). Had vertical chases, 2 per 3ft panel. Electrician not happy, almost refused the job. I got to do a lot of the work myself.

 

[dstig1]

Wiring isn't too bad if you use your head. Most runs come up or down from floor/ceiling joists, and then route back up/down into the joists again. You can use the chases more, and sometimes have to, but the installation crew doesn't always remember to drill the holes in the joining splices or plates, so you can get stuck there.

There is no reason to ever put plumbing in an exterior wall, if you live where it freezes. That's just bad design or planning.

I helped a friend do an addition with SIPs a few years back (he had a crew do the panel install) and plan to do my house the same way in the next couple years. They aren't perfect, but IMHO it is a very hard system to beat for install and efficiency and air sealing.